Lyonel Feininger, 1922
Postcard for the Lantern Festival

The Bauhaus year was shaped by the Lantern Festival on Gropius’s birthday, as well as the Summer Solstice, Kite and Julklapp Festivals in the summer, autumn and winter. As in 1920, the Lantern Festival in 1922 appears to have been held on the day of the summer solstice and therefore on the birthday of the poet Johannes Schlaf. On his postcard, Feininger clearly states that the event will be held on 21st June. The lithograph shows the art school building, from which the Bauhaus members paraded through the park on the Ilm river to the Ilmschlösschen (Ilm castle), illuminated by moon and star lanterns.